NAPLES, anciently Parthenope, afterwards Neapolis, the capital of the kingdom of that name in Italy, lies in the province called Terra di Lavoro, which is the richest and best inhabited of the whole kingdom, and comprehends a part of the ancient Campania Felix or the Happy. This city is fabled to owe its foundation to a Syren, and to have received its ancient name from its supernatural foundress. Whatever be its origin, it is the first for neatness, and the second for extent, of all the cities in Italy. It was formerly a place of strength; but its walls at present being of no real defence, its safety depends of course upon the force of its armies. It is most advantageously situated, having a delicious country on one side, and a noble bay of the Mediterranean on the other, with an excellent harbour. The circumference, including the suburbs, is said not to be less than 18 Italian miles, and the number of the inhabitants therein little less than 400,000. The houses are of stone, flat roofed, and generally lofty and uniform; but many of them have balconies, with lattice windows. The streets are well paved; but they are not lighted at night, and in the day time are disfigured, in many places, by stalls, on which provisions are exposed to sale. Here are a great number of fine churches,
Naples. churches, convents, fountains, and palaces of the nobility, many of whom constantly reside here. It is usual to walk on the tops of the houses in the evenings, to breathe the sweet cool air, after a hot sultry day. The climate here is so mild and warm, even in the winter, that plenty of green peas, artichokes, asparagus, and other vegetables, may be had so early as the beginning of the new year, and even all the winter. This city swarms with monks and nuns of all sorts, to such a degree, that there are no less than 19 convents of the Dominicans alone, 18 of the Franciscans, 8 of the Augustines, and an equal proportion of the rest. The magnificence of many of the churches exceeds imagination. In a cloister of the Carthusian monastery is a crucifix, said to be done by Michael Angelo, of inimitable workmanship.
To repel hostile attempts by sea, which from its situation, maritime powers might be tempted to make, Naples has, to the west, the Città del Obo, a confused pile of ancient buildings, and some modern batteries. The rock upon which this fortress stands was originally called Megara, then Lucullanum; and was considered as a place of strength so early as the year 475. Along the line of the shore towards the east are some batteries on the points of land, the bastions of the arsenal, and above it the lofty wall of the Città Nuovo. This last fortress has been the usual refuge of the sovereigns and viceroys in all civil wars and tumults; for which reason they have long fixed their residence near its walls. A blockhouse and batteries defend the mouth of the harbour, and at the eastern extremity of the town is the Torrione de Carmine, better known by the figure it made in Massaniello's rebellion than by its extent or military strength. The castle of St Elmo commands Naples in every direction, and is in reality calculated rather to annoy and awe the citizens than to defend them from foreign invaders. The city is indeed far from being secure against a bombardment; for the sea is so deep, that a large vessel may come up to the very mole in defiance of the blockhouse and batteries, &c. Pictures, statues, and antiquities, are not so common in Naples as might be expected in so great and ancient a city, many of the most valuable pieces having been sent to Spain by the viceroys. The bay is one of the finest in the world, being almost of a round figure, about 30 miles in diameter, and three parts of it sheltered with a noble circuit of woods and mountains. The city stands in the bosom of this bay, in as pleasant a situation, perhaps, as is in the world. Mr Keysser says, they reckon about 18,000 donne libere, or courtesans, in the city; and Dr Moore computes the number of lazzaroni or blackguards at above 30,000. The greater part of these wretches have no dwelling houses, but sleep every night under porticos, piazzas, or any kind of shelter they can find. Those of them who have wives and children, live in the suburbs of Naples near Peusfilippo, in huts, or in caverns or chambers dug out of that mountain. They are generally represented as a lazy, licentious, and turbulent set of people, as indeed by far the greater part of the rabble are, who prefer begging or robbing, or running errands, to any fixed and permanent employment. Yet there are in Naples some flourishing manufactures, particularly of silk stockings, soap, snuff-boxes of tortoise shells and the lava of
Mount Vesuvius, tables, and ornamental furniture of marble. The city is supplied with a vast quantity of water, by means of a very costly aqueduct, from the foot of Mount Vesuvius. Mr Addison says, it is incredible how great a multitude of retainers to the law there are in Naples, who find continual employment from the fiery temper of the inhabitants. There are five piazzas or squares in the city, appropriated to the nobility, viz. those called Copuana, Nido, Montagna, Porto, and Porta Nova. Of all the palaces, that of the king is not only the most magnificent, but also in the best style of architecture. The cathedral, though Gothic, is a very grand splendid edifice. It is here that the head and blood of St Januarius, the tutelary saint of Naples, are kept, the latter in two glass or crystal vials. The pretended liquefaction of the dried blood, as soon as brought near the head of the saint, is a thing well known; Mr Addison says, it is one of the most bungling tricks he ever saw. The harbour is spacious, and kept in good repair. It is fortified with a mole, which runs about a quarter of a mile into the sea, and at the extremity has a high lighthouse to direct ships safely into the harbour. Luxury here is restrained by severe sumptuary laws, and the women are more closely confined than in any other city of Italy. Here is an university and two academies of arts, the one called Gli Ardenti, and the other Gli Oligi. The nunnery for ladies of quality is said to be the largest in the whole world, containing no less than 350 nuns, besides servants. The Mount of Piety, or the office for advancing money to the poor, on pledges, at a low interest, or without any, has an income of upwards of 50,000 ducats. The arsenal is said to contain arms for 50,000 men. The walls of the city consist of hard black quarry stones, called piperino. Instead of ice, vast quantities of snow are used for cooling their liquors, not so much as water being drunk without it; so that, it is said, a scarcity of it would as soon occasion a mutiny as a dearth of corn or provisions. Certain persons, who farm the monopoly of it from the government, supply the city all the year round from a mountain about 18 miles off, at so much the pound. In the beginning of 1799, it was taken by a body of French troops under General Championet. The streets of this city were lighted for the first time on the 16th December, 1806. Naples stands 110 miles south-east from Rome, 164 north-east from Palermo in Sicily, 217 south-east from Florence, and 303 from Venice. E. Long. 14. 20. N. Lat. 40. 55.